What makes Gropius House iconic?

Living room and dining room at historic New England’s Gropius House in Lincoln, Massachusetts

Walter Gropius was a German architect and the founder of the Bauhaus School, in Weimar. As the first director of the Bauhaus, Gropius has been credited with focusing the school’s methodology of placing equal emphasis on architecture and decorative arts. Gropius moved to the US during the WWII and started teaching at the Harvard Graduate School of Design between the years of 1937 and 1952.

About the architecture

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Gropius House blueprint

Gropius House floor plans, first floor

Gropius House floor plans, second floor

The Gropius House was Walter Gropius’s own home. Gropius used his home as a showcase for his Harvard students and to introduce his idea of what constituted modernist landscape architecture to America. In keeping with Bauhaus philosophy, Gropius used his own home to stage how modern technologies could be modified to individual consumer needs. In addition to materials traditionally used in New England architecture like wood, brick, and fieldstone, Gropius combined it with industrial materials such as glass block, acoustic plaster, welded steel, and chrome.

Fascinating History

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Gropius House exterior

Gropius House exterior

Efficiency and simplicity, the corner stones of Bauhaus, can be seen in both the planning of both the home and the surrounding landscape. As was the case with most modern homes then, the house had an open floor plan with a living room, dining room, kitchen, an office, a sewing room, three bedrooms, and four bathrooms. All bathrooms were positioned in the less-prominent northwest corner of the house, and all used the same plumbing stack for maximum efficiency.

The apple orchard consisted of 90-planted trees, which were then allowed to grow naturally. It would have been easy to spot the house mostly because of its roof. While most of the surrounding homes featured high pointed roofs with gables, the Gropius House had a flat roof. This architectural statement was then inclined to permit easy drainage.

Did You Know?

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Gropius House interiors

Gropius House interiors

Gropius House interiors

Gropius House interiors

In regards to the interiors, Gropius gave Ati, his then 12-year-old daughter a free hand to design her space by allowing her a great deal of input into the design of her own space. She chose the warm palette and most of the furniture. She was also given one of the largest rooms with a private roof deck. Her room also had a private entrance that included a spiral wrought-iron staircase.

Current status

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Gropius House interiors

Gropius House interiors

Gropius House interiors

In 2000, Gropius House was designated a National Historic Landmark. The Gropius House is now a historic house museum, owned by Historic New England, and is open for public viewing. The Museum has one of the largest of Bauhaus-related source materials, second to only the collections in Germany.

The Iconic House series is a weekly showcase of the most memorable homes designed by some of the world’s greatest architects.